Steel frame furniture presents some unique problems in upholstering. The upholstery material has to be fastened to the frame somehow. Conventional stapling techniques long used with wood frames cannot be applied directly to steel frames.
Various approaches have been employed for fastening upholstery material to steel frames. For example, the material has been fastened with rivet like elements sealed in preformed frame apertures. In a compromise, wood strips have been fastened with rivets and material then stapled to the wood strips.
All the steel frame upholstery methods heretofore employed have had one thing in common. They are labor intensive, time consuming, and relatively expensive.